The removal of radioactive contamination caused by Tokyo Electric Power Co's stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is an important and urgent task as Japan strives to push reconstruction efforts forward in areas struck by the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami. Decontamination will be carried out in 104 municipalities across eight prefectures in the Tohoku and Kanto regions. The central government will carry out decontamination in areas close to the nuclear power plant while municipal governments will do the work in areas where aerial radiation levels measure one millisievert per year or more.
The central government should actively help local governments with their decontamination efforts. For example, it should give them information on what kinds of methods should be employed and to what degree decontamination must be carried out. It also should provide sufficient assistance to ensure that radiation levels are accurately measured in food, water and geographic locations.
An important element essential to the decontamination efforts is the construction of intermediate sites to store contaminated soil. Under the central government's plan, radioactively contaminated soil will be kept at intermediate storage sites for 30 years before being shipped to a final disposal site. If the intermediate storage sites are not constructed, decontamination work will grind to a halt.